Flush valve device



Aug. 26, 1969 R. L. SCHULTZ ETAL 3,462,767

FLUSH VALVE DEVICE Filed Aug. 24. 1967 INVENTORS' Robert L.SchuHz8\ Horoid E Larson BY 3 63 I.

mes.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,462,767 FLUSH VALVE DEVICE Robert L. Schultz, Box 961, Jamestown, N. Dak. 58401,

and Harold F. Larson, 798 1st St. S., Carriugton,

N. Dak. 58421 Filed Aug. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 663,099 Int. Cl. E0311 1/34 US. Cl. 4-57 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention comprises a toilet tank, valve seat in said toilet tank and a flush valve comprising a tank ball adapted to seat upon said valve seat via linkage means pivotally mounted about a first horizontal axis and disposed between the overflow pipe and said tank ball. The tank ball is disposed below the outer end of said linkage means and pivotally mounted about a second horizontal axis to the outer end of said linkage means. Adjustment means to adjust the tank ball about said second horizontal axis for better seating of the tank ball upon said valve seat.

This invention relates to my earlier co-pending patent application Ser. No. 475,831, filed July 29, 1965 now Patent No. 3,341,863 entitled Flush Valve Device and relates to valve apparatus, more particularly the invention relates to flush valves in toilets and other plumbing equipment.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel flush valve mechanism, which will open and close in a positive operation, and which requires a minimum amount of adjustment and maintenance.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel pivotally mounted spring biased tank ball to open and close the flush valve and which may be adjusted to variations in the spring tension.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel pivotally mounted tank ball mechanism which may be adjusted to various types of flush valves.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a flush valve.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the flush valve invention.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the flush valve invention.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4 4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of a modification to the flush valve invention.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the modification to the flush valve invention.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side view of the adjustable disc weight modification mounted to the flush valve invention.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary top-plan view of the adjustable disc weight modification mounted to the flush valve invention.

Briefly stated the invention comprises a flush valve having a pivotally mounted linkage means or support, a tank ball mounted to the outer end of said support and adapted to pivot with said support to open and close-a flush pipe in a toilet, said tank ball having a second pivotal mounting disposed above the tank ball to pivot about a horizontal axis on the outer end of the support, screws projecting from opposite directions for adjusting the tank ball in either direction about said second pivotal mounting to adjust the sealing of the tank ball.

Referring more particularly to the drawing in FIGURE 1, the flush valve invention 20 is illustrated mounted in a conventional toilet 21 having a flush tank 22.

The flush valve invention 20 comprises a bracket 23 which is held to the overflow pipe 26 by a clamp 24. The bracket 23 has spaced upturned flanges 23' and 23" and a top bracket 25 which has a pair of downturned flanges 27 and is pivotally mounted to bracket 23 by a shaft 28. The second bracket has a U-shaped rod 29 with the legs 30 and 30 of the U-rod held to the bracket by curved plates 31 and 31' which plates each have a pair of screws 32 which are threaded through the plates and the top bracket and hold the plates 31 and 31' to legs 30 and 30' of the U-rod to the top bracket.

At the apex 32 of the U-rod is a U-shaped plate 33 which has a center pair of side flanges 34 and 35 which are pivotally mounted to the apex 32 of the U-rod by the U-rod 29 passing through bores in the side flanges 34 and 35. Screw 37 holds the tank ball 38 to the center area 33" of the U-plate 33. The screw 37 passes through a hole in center of the tank ball 38 and is threaded into a bore in the center area 33" of the U-plate 33.

The -U-rod 29 has a pair of downward extending flanges 39 and 39' fixed to the U-rod on opposite sides of the plate 33 and the plate 33 has a pair of outward turned flanges 40 and 40 with screws 41 and 41' threaded through the flanges 40 and 40 engaging the downwardly extending flanges 39 and 39 respectively.

Turning the screws 41 and 41' in either direction will adjust or pivot the tank ball 38 in either direction relative to the U-rod 29 so that the tank ball may be adjusted for better seating in and sealing of the tapered opening or valve seat 42 at the top of the flush pipe 43.

Turning the screws 41 and 41 from left to right when viewed from FIGURE 2, or in other words, threading the screw 41' toward the flange 39' and the screw 41 away from the flange 39 will pivot the plate 33 and consequently pivot the tank ball 38 counterclockwise when viewed from FIGURE 2. Conversely by turning the screws 41 and 41' from right to left when viewed from FIGURE 2 or in other words, threading the screw 41' away from flange 39 and the screw 41 toward the flange 39 will pivot the plate and consequently pivot the tank ball 38 clockwise about the axis of the apex portion 32 when viewed from FIGURE 2. The screws 41 and 41' will be tightened against the flanges 39 and 39' respectively, so that the plate 33 and tank ball 38 will not pivot on the apex portion 32 after the tank ball and plate 33 have been pivoted to their adjusted position.

The flush pipe 43 also has the overflow pipe 26 in fluid communication which bypasses the opening 42 and allows water to flow down the overflow pipe and out the bottom 44 of the flush pipe and into the toilet bowl when the water level in the tank goes above the top 26' of pipe 26.

The adjustment of the tank ball 38 in either direction by the adjustment screws 41 and 41' enables tank ball to be effectively seated in different types of flush pipes.

The flush valve invention is operated by tripping a conventional handle 45 which pivots the arm 46 of the handle downward about the horizontal axis 46' of the handle which raises rod 47 and rod 47 raises the U-shaped bracket 33 and tank ball 38 counterclockwise when viewed from FIGURE 2 about the axis of the shaft 28 raising the tank ball 38 and U-rod 29 and bracket 33 and bracket '25 upward from its position shown in FIGURE 2 about the axis of shaft 28.

The top bracket 25 has a downwardly folded flange 54, and the bottom bracket 23 has an adjustable threaded screw 55 threaded into a flange 56 in bracket 23, the screw 55 limits the counterclockwise pivotal movement 3 of the top bracket 25 about shaft 28 by the screw 55 engaging the folded flange 54 when the bracket 23 is pivoted counterclockwise from its position illustrated in FIG- URE 2.

The buoyancy of water in the tank 22 will keep the tank ball 38 raised as the water in the tank is flushed down the flush pipe to approximately the upper level of the opening 42' of the flush pipe whereupon the tank ball Will pivot clockwise under the weight of the tank ball when viewed from FIGURE 2 dropping the valve opening until the toilet is flushed again.

The counter balance weight structure already described in my earlier co-pending application Ser. No. 475,831 now Patent No. 3,341,863 with the adjusted discs 48 and 49 on the diverging rods '50 and 51, illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8, may also be employed in flush valve invention by attaching the L-shaped plate 52 to the top of the bracket 25 and threading on the diverging threaded rods 50 and 51 into the diverging legs 53 and 53, respectively, of the plate 52 and threading on the adjustable disc weights 48 and 49 onto the rods 50 and 51, respectively, to facilitate the opening and closing of the tank ball in the flush valve in the same manner as already described, and to cause the tank ball to close. The rods 50 and 51 will in actual operation be three or four times the length shown in FIGURE 7 and the discs 48 and 49 will be near the outer edge of the rods and as the tank ball pivots down toward the flush valve opening the weight of disc 49 will have less effect and will tend to accelerate the closing movement of the tank ball onto the flush pipe opening, as already described in said earlier application. Also a spring 90 may be wound about the shaft 28 and one edge 90' will abut the bottom 92 of the bracket 23 and the other end will end above the top of the apex 32 and urge the U-rod 29 and tank ball 38 downward with the flush pipe to facilitate closin of the tank ball into the flush pipe. The buoyancy of the tank ball will be sufiicient to overcome the spring action and disc weight action until the water level reaches the level of the flush pipe opening as already described in said earlier application.

Also, in FIGURES and 6, a modified form of adjustable weight attachment 57 is illustrated having a pair of C-shaped rods 58 and 59 with one end of the C-shaped rods fixed to the top bracket 25 by a plate 60 which has a screw 61 threaded through the top bracket 25 and plate 60 and holds the rods 58 and 59 to the top bracket 25.

The plate 60 has surfaces rounded about the rods 58 and 59 to hold the C-shaped rods in fixed relation to the top bracket 25.

A pair of plates 61 and 62 embrace the opposite ends of the C-rods and have rounded surfaces and a screw 63 threaded through the plates 61 and 62 to lock the plates 61 and 62 together and hold the other ends of the C-rods 58 and 59 in fixed relation.

A steel ball 63 rests on the C-rods and is adapted to roll on the C-rods to left when viewed from FIGURE 5 when the tank ball is opened by pivoting the top bracket counterclockwise. The rolling of the ball to the left toward the end of the C-rods tends to accelerate the opening of the tank ball from the flush valve. When the water .4 level drops downward toward the level of the top opening in the flush valve, the tank ball will tend to move with the level of the water in the toilet tank and as the tank ball and bracket pivots clockwise toward the flush valve opening the steel ball 63 will roll toward the right when viewed from FIGURE 5 along the C-rods and the shifting of the weight of the steel ball to the right will tend to accelerate and assist in the clockwise closing movement of the tank ball into the fluid valve opening.

Thus, it will be seen that the tank ball adjustment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 5 may be employed alone to open and close relying upon the weight of the tank ball and supporting structure to close the tank ball against the flush pipe opening and seal it and relying upon the buoyancy of the tank ball to keep the tank away from the flush pipe opening until the water level in the tank reaches the upper edge 42 of the flush pipe opening. The tank ball adjustment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 5 may also be employed with the adjustable weight structure shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 or may be employed with the C-rod adjustable steel ball or weight shifting structure illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6.

It will be obvious that various changes and departures may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and accordingly it is not intended that the invention be limited to that specifically disclosed in the specification or illustrated in the drawings, but only as set forth in the appended claims wherein.

What is claimed is:

1. In a conventional toilet tank having a valve seat and an overflow pipe connected thereto, a pivotally mounted tank ball, linkage means disposed between the overflow pipe and said tank ball pivotally mounted about a first horizontal axis having one end laterally adjacent said flush valve seat to permit said tank ball to seat thereupon, said tank ball being disposed below the other end of said linkage means and pivotally mounted about a second horizontal axis, a pair of screws mounted on the linkage means in opposed relationship to each other along said second horizontal axis to adjust said tank ball in either direction about said second horizontal axis for better seating of said tank ball over said valve seat.

2. A flush valve according to claim 1, wherein the tank ball has adjustable weight means to facilitate the closing and opening of the tank ball. 1

3. A flush valve according to claim 2 where said adjustable weight means comprise a C-shaped guideway with a steel ball adapted to roll on the guideway to adjust the weight.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 936,396 10/1909 Young 4-63 XR 2,270,989 1/ 1942 Asselin. 2,731,646 1/1956 Hughes. 2,970,? 19 2/ 1961 Lassiter. 3,360,804- 1/1968 Ament.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H, K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner 

